Second Chances Reality: Silly Hiccups
by BlueRowley
Summary: Seven-year-old Harry develops a bad case of silly hiccups that brings disaster and laughter to his day. Will Severus be able to cure Harry of this ailment? A one-shot in the Second Chances Reality Series.


Just a little idea that struck me one night. Enjoy!

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Harry blinked his eyes open, wishing the slight shaking of his shoulder would go away. He squinted as sunlight assaulted his vision, blinking a few more times before he could clearly see his father smiling down at him.

"Rise and shine, Harry, Severus said. "Get dressed, make your bed, and come downstairs for breakfast. It'll be ready in a few."

"Yes, Dad," Harry said sleepily.

Severus left Harry to finish waking up. He stared up at his ceiling for a few minutes before he threw his blanket aside and stood up, stretching and yawning. He slowly dressed into the clothes his father had laid out. Then, he worked on making his bed—nice and neat, just as his dad liked it. As he rested his stuffed tiger, Whisker, against his pillow so the tiger could continue sleeping, he hiccupped loudly.

His entire bed jumped, as if shocked with lightning, and the blanket crumbled up and the pillow and Whisker flew to the other end of the bed.

Harry stared dumbfounded, a hand covering his mouth. Well, that was strange, he thought.

Harry shrugged and began making his bed once more. He settled Whisker on his pillow again, stroking the tiger's soft fur. Glad his bed was finished, he turned away, only to hiccup again. He winced as he heard the bed jump once more. Slowly turning around, his shoulders slumped at the sight of the disheveled bed.

Glaring this time, Harry made the bed again, this time, tucking the blanket under the mattress as he did so. He patted down his pillow set Whisker on top of it, hoping the tiger would keep it down. He backed away, keeping a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't hiccup again.

The bed remained put and Harry lowered his hands, only to hiccup.

The blanket unraveled itself and the pillow and Whisker shot up to the ceiling, falling back to the bed with a soft thump.

Harry stomped his foot and growled under his breath, storming out of his room and down the stairs. He would have to deal with his bed later. His father couldn't fault him for accidental magic, right? How were his hiccups even triggering it? He never had hiccups mess with his magic before. He wondered if he should talk to Severus about it, but perhaps the hiccups just needed to run its course like normal hiccups. Drinking something might help, too.

Harry sat at the dining table, ready for some food.

"Is your bed made?" Severus asked as he came out of the kitchen with a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast and a glass of juice. He settled the food in front of Harry.

"I made it three times," Harry answered, grabbing his fork to dig in.

Severus raised an eyebrow at that.

"Diligent, are we?" Severus set his own plate down at the head of the table.

Harry hiccupped as Severus moved to sit down, but the chair under him slid back and the man fell unceremoniously to the floor. Harry stared wide-eyed at Severus as the man scrambled to stand back up, pulling the chair forward and sitting down, his cheeks the slightest bit red.

"Graceful, wasn't that?" Severus told Harry.

Harry smiled and returned to eating, deciding against saying anything. They ate peacefully for a few minutes. Severus picked up the Daily Prophet to begin reading, his face hidden behind the parchment.

Harry reached for his juice but hiccupped before he could touch it. The glass slid away from his fingers and out of reach. Harry stretched his upper body across the table and tried again, but he hiccupped, and the glass slid to the other side of the table, dangerously close to the edge.

Harry got out of his seat and ran around to the other side of the table. A hiccup escaped his lips and the glass slid to the missile of the table as Harry made it to the other side. Harry growled in frustration. He needed that drink to wash away these annoying hiccups.

"What are you doing?" Severus asked, the Daily Prophet lowered.

"I can't reach my drink," Harry answered.

"Why didn't you say so?" Severus said, grabbing the glass and handing it to Harry.

"Thanks," Harry said, chugging the juice quickly, hoping the hiccups were drowning.

"When you're finished, go brush your teeth," Severus said. "I have to work on lesson plans for this coming fall, so you may play inside quietly. Understand? I'll be in my study."

"Yes, Dad," Harry said. Once he finished his breakfast hiccup-free, he ran upstairs to brush his teeth. The juice must have worked.

Harry put toothpaste on his brush and began scrubbing away. Halfway through, he hiccupped. Harry paused, waiting to see if anything had happened. Nothing obvious did, so he resumed brushing. Only, the toothbrush would not move how he wanted it to in his mouth. He pulled it out and stared. The toothbrush had become flimsy rubber and it waggled as he moved it up and down.

Sighing, Harry rinsed his mouth and his toothbrush, setting it aside. He held his breath and counted to thirty. He gasped exaggeratedly for air when he was done, unused to holding his breath for so long. He waited. No hiccups yet.

Remembering his father's orders, Harry decided to play in his bedroom. He set up his train set, making a circular track for his train to run laps around. He grabbed the remote and set his train down on the tracks, pressing the go button.

The train chugged forward and Harry pressed buttons that made the train's chugging noises, made it whistle, or made it speed up. Harry was enjoying setting up a small city inside the circle when he hiccupped again.

The train whistled loudly and charged forward, flying around the track, its speed increasing faster and faster with each loop. Harry grabbed the remote and pressed the stop button several times, but to no effect. The train was a blur as it raced along the tacks in an endless circle. Harry was afraid it would hurt his hand if he tried to grab it himself. The train whistled as it flew off the tracks and landed on its side on the bedroom floor, its wheels still spinning.

Harry was growing annoyed with his hiccupping. He decided he would play it safe and just read a book for now until lunch. If he still had hiccups then, he would tell his father and the man would surely know how to get rid of them.

Harry grabbed a children's fantasy novel and began reading the first chapter on his bed. He was pulled into a world of sorcerers and demons and was eating through several pages when he hiccupped. The words on the pages of the book flipped upside down.

Harry's mouth dropped but he smiled as he simply flipped the book upside down. He was glad this bit of magic wasn't so bad. A page later, he hiccupped again, and the upside-down words scrambled. Harry growled and threw the book across the room in frustration. Harry had had enough. He was telling his father this instant and these annoying hiccups would be gone for good. Even if it meant drinking an awful potion of his father's. He could not keep doing this all day.

As Harry jumped off his still messy bed, he hiccupped and watched as the bed made itself this time.

"Really?" he yelled at his bed.

He hiccupped again. Harry expected his bed to unmake itself, but nothing happened. He looked around the room. The book's title was still scrambled. The train's wheels were still spinning. He ran into the bathroom and picked up his toothbrush. It was still flimsy. He looked up in the mirror.

He gasped and his eyes watered. He was bald!

Harry felt the top of his head. It was smooth and hairless. The mirror did not lie. He looked so weird with no hair. Harry felt tears escaping his eyes and he ran out of his bedroom and down the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Daddy!" he cried as he made it to his father's study.

Severus was on his feet in an instant, afraid something was seriously wrong with his son when he noticed the boy's head.

"What did you do to your hair?" Severus asked, frowning. He kneeled in front of his son and ran a hand over the boy's head, looking down at the child's hands to check for any scissors and razors. He was surprised with how upset the boy seemed and wrapped an arm around the child.

"I didn't do it," Harry said, hiding his humiliated face in his father's chest. "I didn't mean to—I hiccupped, and it just happened. I keep hiccupping and . . . they do things."

As if to make a point, Harry hiccupped. The boy swore he saw a new color flash before his eyes, and he pulled out of his father's arms. Severus's black robe had turned pink. Severus looked down at himself and shook his head, his eyes flickering with understanding.

"I'm sorry!" Harry said, his lower lip trembling.

"I see," Severus said, "you have a case of the silly hiccups. Some children are plagued with them. Lucky for you, I know just the potion to get rid of it."

"I can take it now?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid I have none in stock. But it's very easy and quick to whip up. How about you and I go brew it, hmm?"

Harry nodded, taking his father's offered hand, hiccupping softly. He waited for something awful to happen, like his clothes disappearing this time or the floor to open up and eat him. When nothing happened to him, he looked up and laughed at his father.

"What?" Severus asked, looking down at his pink robe. No flowers or butterflies had been added. The man realized Harry was looking up and he reached up and felt his hair. All his hair was now up in a stiff mohawk. He rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand.

"I'm assuming my falling down earlier was thanks to one of your silly hiccups, wasn't it?" Severus said, flicking his wand at himself unsuccessfully.

Harry nodded, frowning as Severus failed to undo his pink robe or his hair. Severus sighed as he put his wand away.

"That's right," Severus said, more to himself than Harry, "Silly hiccup magic must wear off on its own."

Harry felt his head with a sad face. He hoped the magic wasn't long term.

Severus set Harry up on a stool in the lab while he gathered the ingredients he would need. He set up a cauldron and filled it with a few cups of water. He might as well as restock this particular potion as well, should Harry ever have a case again. He could sell some vials as well, and parents bought these like candy for their young children.

Harry hiccupped and he winced as he felt smoke rush out of his ears, whistling like a train. Severus gave the boy a look of sympathy, then pointed out what he was doing.

"Let's see—pickle juice, boom berry juice, a pinch of dittany, ahh"—Severus scooped up a spoonful of sugar—"the best ingredient. Now to mix these before we add our chopped mandrake root and then we'll let it simmer for ten minutes. I told you this was an easy fix."

Severus picked up a stirring rod just as Harry hiccupped. The rod turned into a bouquet of flowers. Harry hiccupped again and the flowers spat water at Severus, drenching the man. Surprisingly, the mohawk was not ruined. Severus dropped the bouquet and picked up Harry. Moving him back to the second lab table, sitting him on the stool there.

"There, far away from my potion," Severus said, patting Harry's head.

Harry watched as Severus returned to the other table and picked up another stirring rod. Harry hiccupped and he watched amused as Severus threw a snake across the lab, vanishing it with his wand. Severus came back over to Harry and picked him up.

"Not far enough," Severus muttered. He set Harry down on a stool near the washing sink on the other side of the lab.

As the potion was simmering, Harry had hiccupped loudly and turned the entire cauldron into a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. Severus handed the bowl over to Harry with an annoyed look.

"Here," the man said. "Lunch."

Harry was given a fork and he ate the food happily as his father began remaking the potion once more. While the new batch was simmering, Severus ate some of the spaghetti as well. Once the potion was complete, Severus took it off the heat and dished the potion out into several protective vials so Harry could not ruin anything else.

Harry hiccupped while he waited, and all his nails on his hands and toes turned different colors.

"Daddy, hurry!" Harry cried.

"I'm going as fast as I can."

Severus finished vialing and he used a spoon to scoop up a dose for the boy.

"All right, Harry," Severus smiled, holding the spoon out to the boy. "Let's get rid of those pesky hiccups."

Harry opened his mouth for the spoon and hiccupped.

The spoon and potion turned to ash and drifted to the ground.

"We'll, I'm glad it wasn't the whole cauldron," Severus remarked.

Harry's eyes watered and he sniffled. He would never be able to get the potion in him and he would be stuck with those awful hiccups that would make him look like a troll in no time. He sniffed again and hiccupped.

Severus was too slow to retreat before he was covered in glitter from head to toe, his robe sparkling now.

"Lovely," Severus sneered at himself. He went back to his vials of potion and poured another dose into a shot glass. The boy only needed a tablespoon. Severus charmed the glass and walked back over to Harry. The boy hiccupped again and the entire lab's walls were painted with unicorns and butterflies. Severus's mouth dropped before he gave the boy an annoyed look.

"It couldn't have been dragons?" Severus asked.

Harry smiled and shrugged.

Severus handed the shot glass to Harry, who chugged the potion as fast as he could. Finally, he felt a strange relief in his chest, and he smiled. The two waited to see if any more hiccups would escape, but Harry remained silent and the boy happily clapped.

"There," Severus said. "All better."

The man looked himself over and Harry did the same.

"Can you fix it now?" Harry asked, really wanting his hair back.

"I'm afraid not," Severus grumbled. "This magic must wear off on its own. That may be a few hours."

"What happened in here?" a voice startled both Severus and Harry.

Sirius was walking down into the lab, looking around when he caught sight of Severus. The man burst out laughing while Severus glared furiously.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Severus growled.

"Well," Remus said, coming down into the lab as well. "We did agree to take Harry to the park today while you worked on lesson plans. It was going to be a surprise, remember?"

"I don't want to go out like this," Harry said, hiding behind Severus.

"I'm afraid we'll have to postpone that," Severus said, ruffling his son's head. "Harry had a pretty bad case of silly hiccups."

"Well, that explains a lot," Remus smirked.

"I think," Sirius began, pulling himself together, "this beats the time we caught you in a blonde wig and make up when you were playing dress up with the boys. Don't you think so, Remus?"

"You two," Severus growled again, his glare darkening, "know when to come at the worst times possible."

Harry laughed himself, feeling more relaxed now that he wasn't having uncontrollable hiccups.


End file.
